Among the handful of European countries steadily forging a path toward cannabis reform, Ukraine appears to be throwing its hat in the ring.
Last week, Ukraine’s parliament voted for a draft law to legalize medical cannabis according to an announcement from lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak. The measure had the support from 248 lawmakers, with the draft law first passed in July 2023.
The law looks to license the economic activity of hemp cultivation for medical, industrial and scientific purposes. The law is meant to help Ukrainian war veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), people with cancer and those with other serious illnesses to get relief from pain and other symptoms.
According to Zhelezniak, the distribution of cannabis for recreational use will still be a crime, and the production of cannabis medicines will be “strictly controlled” at all stages. Only those with an electronic medical cannabis prescription would be allowed to obtain cannabis-based medicines.
“Only legal entities that receive the appropriate license and GMP certificate will be able to grow under 24-hour video surveillance with access for the National Police. Each bush will have individual coding to track the movement of the plants to the patient,” he said in a translated Telegram post.
From here, the proposal must be signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has voiced his support for the legislation.
The possible legalization of medical cannabis has been a longstanding debate in Ukraine, though it gained new traction after Russia’s invasion of the country on Feb. 24, 2022.
“All the world’s best practices, all the most effective policies, all the solutions, no matter how difficult or unusual they may seem to us, must be applied in Ukraine so that Ukrainians, all our citizens, do not have to endure the pain, stress and trauma of war,” Zelenskyy said in a statement back in June. “We must finally honestly legalize cannabis-based medicines, relevant scientific research, and controlled Ukrainian production for everyone who needs it.”
The measure also has the support of Ukraine’s Health Ministry, which called the move to push medical cannabis reform forward a “historic decision.”
“Thank you on behalf of the medical community for the decision made, because medical cannabis is a medicine for millions of people: cancer patients, people with multiple sclerosis, patients receiving palliative care, etc.,” the Health Ministry’s translated statement reads. The Health Ministry also notes that the law was “significantly revised,” with nearly 900 submitted amendments and more than 100 enacted.
“Let’s remind: cannabis-based medicines are allowed in 56 countries, including EU countries, Canada, Great Britain and the United States,” the statement concludes.
Ukraine joins a number of other countries working toward updated cannabis reform policies.
Germany has made waves as the country prepares to legalize recreational cannabis in 2024, with social cannabis clubs potentially allowed to open as early as July 1, 2024. With legalization, residents will be permitted to grow up to three plants at home, and have no more than 50 grams from cannabis cultivated at home (up from 25 grams in previous discussions).
Earlier this month, Italian cannabis reform advocates also announced that they had obtained nearly half of the required signatures to place a cannabis legalization measure before the parliament in just one week. The measure would allow for individuals to cultivate up to four cannabis plants for personal use, create cannabis social clubs to grow and distribute to its members and allow for individuals to possess up to 30 grams of cannabis.
Switzerland will also allow Europe’s first non-medical cannabis dispensaries to open and operate as part of a study examining how controlled access to legal cannabis may affect health and consumption patterns of regular consumers. An initial store opening is planned for the fourth quarter of 2023 in Allschwil, with subsequent locations planned to open over the coming months. The study is slated to last five years.
